Wednesday, March 22, 2017

We novices have just returned from our Dominican Spring
Break tour of Dominican congregations in Akron, Ohio, Caldwell, NJ, Amityville, NY, New Haven, CT, A day at United Nations side events, Cloister convent
in Guildford, CT,
Hope, Maryknoll, Blauvelt, Sparkill, and Adrian,
Michigan.

What an enlightening and inspiring experience. I have gained
more knowledge and better understanding of the rich Dominican heritage. I was
touched by the warm welcome, generosity, and hospitality extended to us by our
Sisters we visited. I had the opportunity to learn more deeply about the
history of each congregation, enjoyed meals, prayers, and conversations with
members of our Dominican family.

I was challenged by the Sisters who were so brave and
courageous to set out in faith from various countries to answer God’s call to
minister and educate the children, and to care for the suffering and the
marginalized with such love and compassion. These brave Sisters sacrificed
everything and answered the call faithfully and tended to the needs of the
church. They faced all kinds of difficulties, yet they did not let it stop
them, instead they trusted in Divine Providence and came together as a family.
These Sisters have encouraged and inspired me in my own journey to religious
life. I am very grateful to all our Dominican Sisters! I am very proud and
happy to be part of the Dominican family.

This week the church
honors St. Joseph
who also answered the call of God with courage, sacrifice, and love. He was
chosen by God to be the protector and supporter of Jesus and Mary. He safe
guarded the honor of Mary. He teaches me how to dedicate myself and to respond
to the Will of God and that God will be with me through all the trials and
challenges. Although he suffered in several ways, he responded faithfully and
did as the Angel of the Lord commanded him as we hear in the Gospels of
Matthew.

He suffered and faced difficulties when the Angel warned him
to flee to Egypt
because of the threat of King Herod and he obeyed and protected Mary and Jesus.
After Mary, it was St. Joseph
who suffered most for Jesus when they lost him in the temple for three days.

His life was continues act of faith, humility, and
obedience.

As a novice in my own journey to religious life, I was inspired
by the stories of our brave Dominican Sisters who listened to the Holy Spirit
and answered the call.

St. Joseph
also reminds me to be open to God’s call to use me to do His Will.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

With the
arrival of Lent, I’ve had the invitation to ask how this season is a time to
deepen my relationship with God and with my community. On Friday, during our
day of reflection, we were each given clay and the instructions to play and to
see what the clay itself might be asking to make. I found myself building up a
clay pot and reflecting on how I was creating a vessel that was waiting to be
filled, and how that is an appropriate image with which to begin Lent. During
this time, we’re asked to empty ourselves of distractions and bad habits,
little and big things, in order to create more room for God to fill the spaces
within us. My pot isn’t perfect, but then again neither am I, and the lumps and
fingerprints are part of the creation process that remind me that I am still
being shaped by God’s fingers.

We had the
opportunity to share our creations that night by candlelight. As a community,
we decided to set aside a Friday evening when we’d fast from electricity, so we
wouldn’t be using lights or other electronic devises. We sat around the living
room, and I felt in awe of the beauty of that moment. During that gathering,
the details were hard to make out, and we had to improvise by shining a
flashlight on our creations like a spotlight. When we were finished, we sat
talking in the candlelight catching up with one another. The evening was a
reminder to me about how meaningful it is to have a discussion face to face
without distractions of television or other devices.

I love
electricity as much as the next person, but I gained by letting go of it for a
night. Like the pot I had made earlier, I had created a hollow space in me that
is normally filled by doing work on my computer or reading a book. And God
reached in and filled the space.

The pot I made for our day of reflection.

On the
Third Sunday of Lent, Gospel is the story of the Woman at the Well, whom Jesus
meets in Samaria. The Samaritan woman desperately wanted to be filled up, and
has looked all over to find ways to fill up that space, only to be left still
filling empty. When Jesus declares that he will give the Samaritan woman Living
Water, that he is in fact the Living Water, the woman immediately responds,
knowing that she is gaining something she has desired about for a very long
time: that the vessel created by God will finally be filled with God. As I move
forward into Lent, and learn to live more deeply during this Lenten season, I
find myself longing for Living Water that will fill up the space within my
created being. I may have strange lumps, and I certainly have the marks of
God’s fingerprints all over me, but when I am filled with Living Water, then
all of my being takes on beauty and meaning. I will be living out the life I
have been created to embrace.

About the Blog

Learn about the life of novices at the Collaborative Dominican Novitiate (CDN) in St. Louis, Missouri, through our reflections and photos. We hope this blog will be a place where our communities, families, friends and any one else who is interested can come to hear stories about what goes on at the CDN .

Special thanks to the 2011-12 novices Chris, Kelly and Krissie for setting up the blog. Explore the archives to read their stories.